Des Lacs North Dakota Map
Explore Des Lacs, North Dakota, with this interactive street and satellite map.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.
Interactive Map of Des Lacs, North Dakota
How to Use This Des Lacs, North Dakota Map
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Des Lacs, North Dakota. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of North Dakota or beyond.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Des Lacs.
Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.
| City | Des Lacs |
| State | North Dakota (ND) |
| County | Ward County |
| Country | United States of America |
| Timezone | Central Time (America/Chicago) |
| Latitude | 48.257788 |
| Longitude | -101.563498 |
| Population | 185 |
| Density | 132.8 /km² |
| Incorporated | Yes |
| ZIP Code | 58733 |
| Area Code | 701 |
| County Seat | Minot |
| School District | United Public School District 7 |
About Des Lacs, North Dakota
Des Lacs is a locality in Ward County, North Dakota, United States. It is a small community with a population of 185. The population density is 132.8 people per km². Des Lacs is located at 48.2578°N, 101.5635°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. Des Lacs is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 58733.Des Lacs anchors itself upon the expansive, wind-swept prairie where the horizon stretches toward an infinite, pale blue arc. It lies 12.4 miles west of Minot, ND (from Minot, ND: bearing 278°T), and is situated 15.7 miles southwest of Minot AFB. The land around Des Lacs Reservoir holds the light of late afternoon, turning the grasses into a sea of amber that ripples under a persistent, cooling breeze. To the west, the distant Henderson Hills provide a faint, serrated edge to the sky, while the immediate terrain is defined by the subtle, rugged drop of Kandolph Coulee. The air here carries the scent of dry earth and dormant wheat, a stillness that feels heavy with the weight of an enormous, unclouded sky that seems to press down upon the open plains.
History lingers in the quiet persistence of the local economy, which remains tethered to the rhythm of the soil and the cycles of the harvest. Farmers continue to work the surrounding acreage, honoring a legacy of endurance that defines the character of the region. Just a few miles away, the Des Lacs River carves its path through the landscape, feeding into the ecological sanctuary of the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge. Life in Des Lacs moves at a deliberate, measured pace, guided by the changing color of the crops and the harsh, honest demands of the prairie winter, reflecting a spirit that finds meaning in the simple, stark beauty of the plains.
Nearby Outdoor Places
- Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge (National Wildlife Refuge) — 8.1 mi, 013° N · 63k acres
- Ward County Waterfowl Production Area (Resource Management Area) — 8.4 mi, 222° SW
- Foxholm (State Conservation Area) — 8.9 mi, 346° N
- Jack Hoeven Park (Local Recreation) — 10.6 mi, 100° E
- Oak Park (Local Park) — 11.3 mi, 097° E
- Amphitheater (Theatre) — 12.0 mi, 092° E
- Sertoma Softball Complex (Local Recreation) — 12.4 mi, 091° E
- Roosevelt Park & Zoo (Local Park) — 13.1 mi, 096° E
- Ryder Veterans Memorial (Monument) — 24.1 mi, 192° S
- Mchenry County Waterfowl Production Area (Resource Management Area) — 28.2 mi, 090° E
- Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge (National Wildlife Refuge) — 30.3 mi, 319° NW · 28k acres
- David Thompson Historical Monument (Monument) — 38.6 mi, 104° E
- Denbigh Purchase Unit (National Forest) — 42.2 mi, 087° E · 595 acres
- Ziegler School (Historic Ruins) — 44.7 mi, 199° S
- Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge_Wilderness Area (Wilderness Area) — 47.5 mi, 303° NW · 5,522 acres
- Monument 670A (Attraction) — 52.1 mi, 010° N
- Manitoba - Saskatchewan boundary (Monument) — 52.1 mi, 010° N
- Little Missouri National Grassland (National Grassland) — 52.8 mi, 253° W · 1.0M acres
- Statue of Pierre Bottineau (Public Artwork) — 64.4 mi, 052° NE
- Old Baldy Overlook (Viewpoint) — 67.2 mi, 048° NE
- Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (Museum) — 70.4 mi, 160° S
- McLean County Museum (Museum) — 71.3 mi, 159° S
- Prairie Village Museum (Museum) — 72.4 mi, 084° E
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About This Des Lacs Map Page
This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Des Lacs, North Dakota. Coordinates: 48.257788, -101.563498. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.
Detailed location data for Des Lacs includes the ZIP code (58733), telephone area code (701), county seat of Ward County (Minot), and school district assignment (United Public School District 7).
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any US town, county or landmark by name; offers USGS topographic maps and USGS aerial imagery as base layers; overlays a labelled U.S. National Grid (USNG) so the map can be read like a printed topographic quad; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as a USNG grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require cell coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Location data | SimpleMaps US Cities Database; coordinates matched to USGS GNIS definitive data |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; USGS The National Map topographic and aerial imagery (public domain); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Wikipedia validation | Article content matched to USGS GNIS coordinates via Wikipedia geosearch API. |
